View source for Nikolay Mihaylov

{{short description|Bulgarian footballer (born 1988)}}
{{for|the Bulgarian cyclist|Nikolay Mihaylov (cyclist)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{family name hatnote|Borislavov|Mihaylov|lang=Bulgarian}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name                = Nikolay Mihaylov<br />Николай Михайлов
| image               = Nikolay Mihaylov 2012.jpg
| caption             = Mihaylov in 2012
| full_name           = Nikolay Borislavov Mihaylov
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1988|06|28|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Sofia]], Bulgaria
| height              = 1.94 m
| currentclub         = 
| clubnumber          = 
| position            = [[Goalkeeper (association football)|Goalkeeper]]
| youthyears1         = 
| youthclubs1         = [[PFC Levski Sofia|Levski Sofia]]
| years1 = 2004–2007 | clubs1 = [[PFC Levski Sofia|Levski Sofia]]          | caps1 = 12 | goals1 = 0
| years2 = 2007–2010 | clubs2 = [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]]               | caps2 = 0  | goals2 = 0
| years3 = 2007–2010 | clubs3 =  → [[FC Twente|Twente]] (loan)             | caps3 = 6  | goals3 = 0
| years4 = 2010–2013 | clubs4 = [[FC Twente|Twente]]                       | caps4 = 82 | goals4 = 0
| years5 = 2013–2014 | clubs5 = [[Hellas Verona F.C.|Hellas Verona]]       | caps5 = 0  | goals5 = 0
| years6 = 2014–2015 | clubs6 = [[Mersin İdman Yurdu|Mersin İdmanyurdu]]   | caps6 = 9  | goals6 = 0
| years7 = 2016–2017 | clubs7 = [[Mersin İdman Yurdu|Mersin İdmanyurdu]]   | caps7 = 29 | goals7 = 0
| years8 = 2017–2018 | clubs8 = [[AC Omonia|Omonia]]                       | caps8 = 10 | goals8 = 0
| years9 = 2018–2024 | clubs9 = [[PFC Levski Sofia|Levski Sofia]]          | caps9 = 52 | goals9 = 0
| totalcaps = 216
| totalgoals = 0
| nationalyears1      = 2004–2008
| nationalteam1       = [[Bulgaria national under-21 football team|Bulgaria U21]]
| nationalcaps1       = 22
| nationalgoals1      = 1
| nationalyears2      = 2006–2022
| nationalteam2       = [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]]
| nationalcaps2       = 46
| nationalgoals2      = 0
| club-update         = 17:16, 26 May 2024 (UTC)
| nationalteam-update = 20:37, 12 June 2022 (UTC)
}}

'''Nikolay Borislavov Mihaylov''' ({{langx|bg|Николай Бориславов Михайлов}}; born 28 June 1988) is a Bulgarian former professional [[association football|footballer]] who played as a [[Goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]].

== Personal life ==
Mihaylov's father is former goalkeeper [[Borislav Mihaylov]], the player with the second most international appearances for Bulgaria (after [[Stilyan Petrov]]) and head of the [[Bulgarian Football Union]], and his grandfather was [[Biser Mihaylov]], who also played in goal for Levski in the 1960s. [[Maria Petrova (rhythmic gymnast)|Maria Petrova]], a prominent world champion in rhythmic gymnastics, has been his stepmother since 1998.

== Club career ==

=== Levski Sofia ===
Talented Mihaylov started as a youngster with home country top team [[PFC Levski Sofia|Levski Sofia]], making his full 90 minutes debut at the age of just 17 in the UEFA cup match against Auxerre. He nevertheless was not popular with their fans. Mihaylov's poor performances in some matches, particularly his blunder in the [[UEFA Champions League|Champions League]] game against [[SV Werder Bremen|Werder Bremen]] on 31 October 2006, provoked a negative campaign among Levski supporters who associated his career with protection from his influential father.

=== Liverpool ===
In June 2007, he almost joined [[ACF Fiorentina]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/08062007/58/serie-mihaylov-set-viola.html |title=Serie A – Mihaylov set for Viola |access-date=27 June 2007 |date=8 June 2007 |publisher=Yahoo! Sport }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> but was instead transferred to Liverpool on a three-year contract, with an option for a further two years.<ref name="liverpool">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/6247150.stm |title=Liverpool capture keeper Mihaylov |access-date=27 June 2007 |date=27 June 2007 |publisher=BBC Sport }}</ref>
[[File:Gelo.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Mihaylov at Sofia airport]]
Mihaylov was acquired by Liverpool as a talent,<ref>[https://www.vice.com/nl/article/nikolay-mihaylov-fc-twente/ Nikolay Mihaylov over de vrije val na zijn vertrek bij FC Twente] vice.com</ref> who might become their first team keeper in the future, as at that time Liverpool's first choice keeper was [[Pepe Reina]], with [[Charles Itandje]] as back up. By 14 July it became clear that the transfer had hit a problem; Mihaylov would not qualify for a British work permit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/tm_headline=passport-holds-key-as-lucas-leiva-waits-to-join-up-with-liverpool%26method=full%26objectid=19453423%26siteid=100252-name_page.html
|title=Passport holds key as Lucas Leiva waits to join up with Liverpool |work=Article in the Liverpool Echo|date=14 July 2007|access-date=14 July 2007}}</ref> As a consequence the Bulgarian U-21 International joined [[FC Twente]] on a one-year loan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/6961038.stm |title= Mihaylov joins FC Twente on loan |date=23 August 2007|access-date=3 June 2009|publisher=BBC Sport}}</ref>
At FC Twente 19-year-old Mihaylov was to compete with [[Sander Boschker]] and [[Cees Paauwe]] for first team action. Although not playing any matches for the first team, Twente did recognize his talent and in 2008 they extended his loan with a year to August 2009.

=== Twente ===
On 27 August 2008, Mihaylov made his debut for FC Twente in their 4–0 defeat to [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] at the [[Emirates Stadium]] in the second leg of the third qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League and went on to make his [[Eredivisie]] debut in a 1–1 draw at [[Roda JC|Roda]] on 30 August 2008. On 14 March 2009, Mihaylov made his second appearance for Twente in the Dutch league against Willem II, playing the full 90 minutes and earning himself a booking, managing to keep a clean sheet in Twente's 2–0 away win. On 29 July 2009, Mihaylov came on as a substitute for midfielder [[Kenneth Perez]], following the [[Penalty card#Red card|dismissal]] of starting keeper [[Sander Boschker]] in the 27th minute of Twente's away game against [[Sporting Clube de Portugal|Sporting CP]] in the first leg of the [[UEFA Champions League]] third qualifying round. He stopped the penalty taken by [[João Moutinho]] and made a number of key saves to keep the scores level at 0–0.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=2000026/match=2000326/report=rp.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731110421/http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=2000026/match=2000326/report=rp.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 July 2009|title=Twente manages 0–0 against Sporting|access-date=30 July 2009|date=29 July 2009 |publisher=[[UEFA]]}}</ref> Mihaylov played the full 90 minutes in the return leg and was not at fault for the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] side's [[last-minute goal|last-minute]] equalizing goal, which allowed [[Sporting Clube de Portugal|Sporting CP]] to advance on the [[away goals rule]].

[[File:Nikolay Mihaylov.jpg|thumb|Mihaylov playing for FC Twente]]
FC Twente had become impressed with Mihaylov, not only his talent, but also his progress convinced them. And after several years of being loaned out to Twente, on 5 February 2010 he officially was transferred for a fee of €1.8 million from [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] to Twente. He signed a contract for three years with the Dutch club.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2010/02/04/liverpool-fc-sell-nikolay-mihaylov-to-fc-twente-for-1-5million-92534-25766236/|title=Liverpool FC sell Nikolay Mihaylov to FC Twente for £1.5million|date=4 February 2010|publisher=Liverpool Daily Post}}</ref>

In the 2010–11 season, he established himself as the starting goalkeeper for Twente. Having played in the Champions League, Mihaylov impressed with great appearances in the competition that season, among others by stopping a penalty-shot. In the Champions League FC Twente drew to play against his "nightmare" club [[SV Werder Bremen|Werder Bremen]], as it were mentioned by the Bulgarian media. He only conceded one goal in the two matches played against Werder. With further appearances against [[Tottenham Hotspur]] and the previous year's [[UEFA Champions League|Champions League]] winner [[Inter Milan]] in the group, Twente managed on their debut in the Champions League nevertheless to end at third place, allowing continuation in the [[UEFA Europa League]]. Twente was defeated in the quarterfinals by [[Villarreal CF|Villarreal]], after having defeated [[FC Rubin Kazan|Rubin Kazan]] and [[FC Zenit Saint Petersburg|Zenit Saint Petersburg]].

Mihaylov was quoted saying that Liverpool now had retained an option to buy him back from Twente, as he had played enough games for his native country's national team to qualify for a work permit.

On 23 December 2011, Mihaylov attended a ceremony in [[Sofia]], where he was honoured with the [[Bulgarian Footballer of the Year]] award ([[Stiliyan Petrov]] and [[Dimitar Berbatov]] came second and third respectively). The last Bulgarian goalkeeper to have received this distinction is his father [[Borislav Mihaylov|Borislav]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://topsport.ibox.bg/material/id_2046185605|title=Официално: Ники Михайлов детронира Бербатов за Футболист на годината
|access-date=24 December 2011|date=23 December 2011|publisher=topsport.bg|language=bg}}</ref>

=== Mersin ===
Mihaylov signed for Turkish club [[Mersin İdmanyurdu SK|Mersin İdmanyurdu]] on 1 September 2014 on a two-year contract as a free agent.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://forzaitalianfootball.com/2014/09/hellas-verona-keeper-moves-to-mersin-idmanyurdu/|title=Hellas Verona keeper moves to Mersin Idmanyurdu|date=4 September 2014|publisher=forzaitalianfootball.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://bsport.bg/article-68583|title=Николай Михайлов подписа с турския Мерсин|date=1 September 2014|publisher=bsport.bg|language=bg|access-date=28 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116011731/http://bsport.bg/article-68583|archive-date=16 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> He made his debut in a 3–0 home win over [[Kemer Tekirovaspor]] in the [[Turkish Cup]] on 29 September. His [[Süper Lig]] debut came on 22 November, in a 2–2 away draw against [[Akhisar Belediyespor]]. On 27 December, Mihaylov played his second league game in a 1–0 loss against [[Fenerbahçe S.K. (football)|Fenerbahçe]] at [[Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium]], in which he saved a penalty from [[Diego Ribas da Cunha|Diego]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.novsport.com/news1310521_1038.html|title=Ники Михайлов спаси дузпа на Диего в турското първенство|date=27 December 2014|publisher=novsport.com|language=bg}}</ref>

=== Omonia ===
In December 2017, Mihaylov signed a contract with [[Cyprus|Cypriot]] club [[AC Omonia|Omonia]] until the end of the season.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=topsport.bg|url=https://topsport.bg/bulgarians-abroad/ivaylo-petev-pribra-nikolay-mihaylov-v-omoniya-nikoziya.html|title=Ивайло Петев прибра Николай Михайлов в Омония (Никозия)|date=15 December 2017|access-date=27 December 2017|language=bg}}</ref>

=== Return to Levski Sofia ===
On 26 November 2018, Mihaylov returned to Levski Sofia, signing a contract till the end of the season with an option to be extended for two more years.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=levski.bg|url=https://levski.bg/%d0%bd%d0%b8%d0%ba%d0%be%d0%bb%d0%b0%d0%b9-%d0%bc%d0%b8%d1%85%d0%b0%d0%b9%d0%bb%d0%be%d0%b2-%d0%bf%d0%be%d0%b4%d0%bf%d0%b8%d1%81%d0%b0-%d1%81-%d0%bb%d0%b5%d0%b2%d1%81%d0%ba%d0%b8-%d0%b2%d0%b8%d0%b4/|title=Николай Михайлов подписа с Левски|date=26 November 2018|access-date=8 April 2022|language=bg}}</ref> He quickly became the first choice goalkeeper, but lost his status shortly after the arrival of [[Milan Mijatović]]. He regained his place for the first half of season 2020-21 due to Mijatović's departure in the summer of 2020.

== International career ==
[[File:Nikolay Mihaylov - 2011.jpg|thumb|upright|Mihaylov with [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] in 2011]]
Mihaylov made his senior international debut in the 5–1 defeat by [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] in the [[Kirin Cup]] in Japan in May 2006. On 12 August 2009, he earned his second cap, playing the full 90 minutes in a [[friendly match]] against [[Latvia national football team|Latvia]], which [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] won 1–0. Mihaylov did well to parry a dangerous [[Vitālijs Astafjevs]] shot in the second half, but was hardly tested during the game. He earned his third cap on 10 October 2009, after replacing the injured [[Dimitar Ivankov]] in the 1–4 away loss to [[Cyprus national football team|Cyprus]] in a [[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification|World Cup qualifier]]. Mihaylov was the starting goalkeeper for Bulgaria during the country's first two reasonably unsuccessful [[UEFA Euro 2012|Euro 2012]] [[UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying|qualifiers]]. He played as the main custodian for Bulgaria during the [[2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|2014 World Cup qualifiers]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://topsport.ibox.bg/news/id_1053917562|title=Ники Михайлов: чака ни една добра тренировка, по-важно е какво ще стане след 20 дни|access-date=23 July 2014 |date=13 August 2013 |publisher=Топспорт.бг}}</ref> while [[Vladislav Stoyanov]] was selected for the last two matches - against [[Armenia national football team|Armenia]] and the [[Czech Republic national football team|Czech Republic]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://topsport.ibox.bg/news/id_2082269158|title=Владо Стоянов сменя Ники на вратата, почваме арменците с Емо Гъргоров - Бадема |access-date=23 July 2014 |date=11 October 2013 |publisher=Топспорт.бг}}</ref>

== Career statistics ==
{{Updated|26 May 2024}}

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|Cups
!colspan="2"|Europe
!colspan="2"|Other
!colspan="2"|Total
!rowspan="2"|{{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[PFC Levski Sofia|Levski Sofia]]
|2004–05
|rowspan="3"|[[First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)|A Group]]
|1||0||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||2||0
|<ref name="levski">{{cite web |title=Николай Михайлов |url=https://levskisofia.info/player/nikolay-mihaylov/ |website=levskisofia.info/ |access-date=26 February 2019}}</ref>
|-
|2005–06
|6||0||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|–||7||0
|<ref name="levski"/>
|-
|2006–07
|5||0||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|–||6||0
|<ref name="levski"/>
|-
|[[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]]
|2007–08
|[[Premier League]]
|colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[FC Twente|Twente]] (loan)
|2007–08
|rowspan="6"|[[Eredivisie]]
|0||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0
|<ref name="wf">{{cite web |title=Nikolay Mihaylov » Club matches |url=https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/nikolay-mihaylov/2/ |website=worldfootball.net |access-date=26 February 2019}}</ref>
|-
|2008–09
|6||0||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|–||7||0
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|2009–10
|0||0||3||0||2||0||colspan="2"|–||5||0
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[FC Twente|Twente]]
|2010–11
|31||0||1||0||10||0||colspan="2"|–||42||0
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|2011–12
|25||0||2||0||13||0||colspan="2"|–||40||0
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|2012–13
|26||0||0||0||9||0||colspan="2"|–||35||0
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!88!!0!!6!!0!!35!!0!!colspan="2"|–!!129!!0
|-
|[[Hellas Verona F.C.|Hellas Verona]]
|2013–14
|[[Serie A]]
|0||0||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||1||0
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Mersin İdmanyurdu SK|Mersin İdmanyurdu]]
|2014–15
|rowspan="2"|[[Süper Lig]]
|6||0||8||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||14||0
|-
|2015–16
|3||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||3||0
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|2016–17
|[[TFF First League|1. Lig]]
|29||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||29||0
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!38!!0!!8!!0!!0!!0!!colspan="2"|–!!46!!0
|-
|rowspan="1"|[[AC Omonia|Omonia]]
|2017–18
|[[Cypriot First Division]]
|5||0||0||0||0||0||5||0||10||0
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|rowspan="7"|[[PFC Levski Sofia|Levski Sofia]]
|2018–19
|rowspan="6"|[[First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)|Bulgarian First League]]
|16||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||16||0
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|2019–20
|0||0||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||1||0
|<ref name="wf"/>
|-
|rowspan="1"|[[2020–21 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)|2020–21]]
|18||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||18||0
|-
|rowspan="1"|[[2021–22 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)|2021–22]]
|29||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||29||0
|-
|rowspan="1"|[[2022–23 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)|2022–23]]
|3||0||1||0||4||0||0||0||8||0
|-
|rowspan="1"|[[2023–24 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)|2023–24]]
|4||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||4||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!71!!0!!3!!0!!6!!0!!colspan="2"|–!!80!!0
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!216!!0!!18!!0!!41!!0!!5!!0!!280!!0
|}

== Honours ==

=== Club ===
'''Levski Sofia'''
* [[Bulgarian A Football Group|A Group]]: [[2005–06 A Group|2005–06]], [[2006–07 A Group|2006–07]]
* [[Bulgarian Cup]]: [[2005 Bulgarian Cup Final|2004–05]], 2006-07,[[2022 Bulgarian Cup Final|2021–22]]
* [[Bulgarian Supercup]]: [[2005 Bulgarian Supercup|2005]]

'''Twente'''
* [[Eredivisie]]: [[2009–10 Eredivisie|2009–10]]
* [[Johan Cruijff Shield]]: [[Johan Cruijff-schaal XV|2010]], [[Johan Cruijff-schaal XVI|2011]]
* [[KNVB Cup]]: [[2010–11 KNVB Cup|2011]]

=== Individual ===
* [[Bulgarian Footballer of the Year]]: 2011
* [[Dutch Footballer of the Year#Dutch Football Goalkeeper of the Year|Dutch Football Goalkeeper of the Year]]: 2011
* [[First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)|Bulgarian First League]] Best Goalkeeper: [[2021–22 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)#Best Goalkeeper|2021–22]],

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|url=http://www.niki-mihaylov.com}} {{in lang|bg}}
* {{Premier League player|3401}}
* {{UEFA player}}
* {{Soccerbase}}
* [http://www.vi.nl/Spelers/Speler/NikolaiMichailov.htm Player profile at Voetbal International] {{in lang|nl}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.levski.bg/player.php?player_id=463 |title=Profile et Levski.bg |access-date=5 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116011731/http://www.levski.bg/player.php?player_id=463 |archive-date=16 January 2016 |url-status=dead  |language=bg}}
* [http://en.levskisofia.info/player/nikolay-mihaylov/ Profile at LevskiSofia.info]
* {{NFT player|14778}}

{{Bulgarian Footballer of the Year}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mihaylov, Nikolay}}
[[Category:1988 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Sofia]]
[[Category:Bulgarian men's footballers]]
[[Category:Bulgaria men's international footballers]]
[[Category:Bulgaria men's under-21 international footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football goalkeepers]]
[[Category:PFC Levski Sofia players]]
[[Category:Liverpool F.C. players]]
[[Category:FC Twente players]]
[[Category:Hellas Verona FC players]]
[[Category:Mersin Talim Yurdu footballers]]
[[Category:AC Omonia players]]
[[Category:First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players]]
[[Category:Eredivisie players]]
[[Category:Süper Lig players]]
[[Category:Cypriot First Division players]]
[[Category:Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in England]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in England]]
[[Category:Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Italy]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Italy]]
[[Category:Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey]]
[[Category:Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus]]
[[Category:21st-century Bulgarian sportsmen]]